Ron frantically tries to recover his fumbled phone. Having fallen into the depths of the dark foot space of the car, he pats with his hand around on the floor mat, searching desperately. At last he feels the small device with his large hand. He quickly brings the phone back to his ear.
"Hello? Are you still there?" Ron prays the call wasn't dropped like his phone was.
Nurse Ames' rough voice comes through, "Yes, I'm still here."
Ron sighs in relief, "Good. I'll be right there. Don't let that little girl outta your sights."
"Oh, um...I don't see her. S-she was right here but I looked away for just a second...and now she's gone."
"Shit! Well go find her." Ron ends the call and peels out, racing toward the hospital.
***
Still in her coma, Brandy lays in the now darkened room. No emergency lights are within the room. The only signs of light come from the dimly lit hallway and the faintest hint of moonlight that shines through the window. All is quiet except for the soft steady beeps coming from the monitoring devices. Brandy's heart carries on ceaselessly, unwilling to quit on her. Perhaps her heart would be beating much faster right now if her body and mind had not given up on her. If her eyes could open, and her brain could process the information they saw, her heart would surely be beating a hole through her chest. If only she would just open her eyes, she would see the small silhouette of the child standing at the doorway to her room.
***
Nurse Ames scurries out from behind the nurses' station in search of the little girl. She checks down a few hallways but there are no signs of the lost child. She calls aloud for the girl, "Hello? Little girl where are you?"
The nurse's pace quickens as she hurries toward Detective Brandy Page's room.
Inside the room Abby stands emotionless at the foot of the bed, watching Brandy as she sleeps. Abby cocks her head to the side looking at Brandy's eyes, watching as they move beneath her eyelids. She wants Brandy to open her eyes so she can see what's to come. This will be too easy for Abby. She enjoys a challenge just as her father does. Abby would prefer not to stab a sleeping victim...where's the fun in that? Abby looks toward the door. She hears the nurse's voice getting closer as she is calling for 'little girl' from the hallway.
Nurse Ames reaches Brandy's unlit room and peers into the darkness. She is hesitant to enter the lightless room, "Hello?"
No sounds return to her. She slowly creeps in toward the bed were Brandy lies. She doesn't see the figure of anybody, so she assumes she is alone. 'Humph'
Nurse Ames figures while she is in the room, she may as well check on the patient. She side steps through the tight space between the bed and the privacy curtain. She checks Brandy's I.V. and the monitors to be sure her vitals are normal.
From the corner of her eye she sees the curtain tremble behind her. She quickly turns but the curtain is still, unmoving. She wonders if it's just the darkness playing tricks on her eyes. She shrugs off her paranoia and continues to check on Brandy, often glancing back over her shoulder at the curtain. She turns the volume down on the monitors when she suddenly notices a teddy bear sitting in the chair next to the bed.
She stares at the bear for a moment then curiously, nurse Ames rounds the bed to the other side. She scoops up the bear and looks at it. 'Humph'. As she turns to exit the room she is startled by a small dark figure standing in her path. "Ohhh..." She drops the bear and it tumbles to a stop by Abby's feet. "...Y-you shouldn't be in here..." She walks toward Abby with a disappointed look. "...and this isn't your mother. You have some explaining to do."
Abby doesn't acknowledge her remarks. "Did I scare you?" Abby gives an evil smile.
Nurse Ames plays it off as if she wasn't scared, "No. I knew you were in here..." She bends to pick up the bear, "...I saw you coming from behind the curtain."
Abby looks at the back of the nurses head while she is bent down in front of her. "I bet you didn't see this coming." Abby pulls her knife from behind her back, raises it, and quickly jams it into the back of the nurse's head. Between the base of her skull and the top of her spine, the knife easily sinks deep into the soft tissue. The elderly woman drops dead instantly.
***
.
As Ron nears the hospital he decides to call Stan Neilen and Edward Sturn as back up. He isn't sure what to expect once he gets to the hospital. Reinforcements may be needed.
Stan Neilen answers his phone, "Travis what's goin on? You tore outta here like your ass was on fire."
Ron sounds panicked, "I need you and Sturn at the hospital, now!"
"What about Kringe? The ambulance hasn't gotten here yet."
"I don't give a shit about him, bring his ass with you! Just get here."
Ron has arrived at the front entrance to the hospital. He flings his door open and jumps out. He runs into the building leaving his car door wide open.
Stan is curious, "Jesus Travis, what the hell is going on?"
As Ron runs through the halls of the hospital he is becoming short of breath. "I don't know...I think...it's a five year old."
He ends the call and continues to run as fast he can.
Stan has a confused look on his face, "A five year old? Travis, what the hell are you talking about? Travis? Hello?"
Just barely coherent in the backseat, Harrison hears Stan Neilen's mention of a five year old. Harrison opens his one good eye and a bloody smile forms across his face. He whispers softly, "Abby."
Stan stomps on the accelerator and peels out from the scene of the bus accident.
***
In the hospital, Ron gets to Brandy's room and stops just outside the door. He withdraws his gun and enters cautiously. Though it is dark within the room, Ron can see the undeniable image of a person lying face down on the floor. He tries the light switch even though he knows it will do nothing.
He whispers, "Shit."
He slowly approaches the body of Nurse Ames. As his eyes adjust to the darkness he can see the hole in the back of her neck and a puddle of blood surrounding her. He doesn't bother to check for her pulse, he knows she is dead. Ron stands and looks around the room, there is no sign of anyone else. The only sound he hears is the thumping of his overworked heart pounding in his chest. He checks on Brandy. She seems to be in the same condition as when he had left her. As he stares down at her, he hears a faint grunt come from her as her head starts to move from side to side like she is having a disturbing dream.
Ron places his hand on her shoulder and gently whispers, "Page, you awake? Can you hear me?"
From behind the bed, Abby reaches out and stabs Ron in the groin.
A piercing sharp pain shoots through him. "Ahhh!"
Ron falls, landing hard on his back. He aims his gun at Abby but she quickly slices his hand and the gun flies from his grip into the corner of the room.
He curses through his teeth, "Ah! Shit!"
The cut begins to burn as the cold hospital air hits it. Ron tries to drag himself to his weapon, Abby stands watching...waiting patiently. He gets to his gun, grabs it, and turns to aim it at her.
With the equivalent precision of a well-trained sniper, a throwing knife suddenly sticks in Ron's wrist of the hand that holds the gun. He screams in pain dropping the gun again. He quickly grabs the weapon with his other hand and turns to shoot but Abby is no longer standing where she was. Ron looks all around but he doesn't know where she has gone.
From a different area of the room Ron hears a childish laugh, "Hee-hee-hee."
He spins toward the giggle and aims his gun toward the lightless corner but only seconds later he aims in another direction. The sadistic cackle from the five year old fills the air from the opposite corner of the room.
Suddenly the door slams shut and it becomes much darker. Ron is trying to watch all sides but it's too dark. He can't see anything but his own shaking hands in the hint of moonlight shining on them.
Ron continues to hear Abby's laugh in one area and then again in another. Abby is just toying with him. He is frozen with fear; fear of the unknown, fear of the unseen. He points his gun at the sounds but he is scared to pull the trigger. He is scared he might miss, but more so Ron is scared he might hit his target. Even though she is a psychotic child that has obviously had a deranged upbringing, she is still just a child. No matter how dangerous they may be, Ron can't imagine shooting a child.
Abby whispers to Ron as he aims the gun into the darkness. "Catch."
Suddenly Ron is startled as a teddy bear lands in his lap. He picks it up, lifting it into the moonlight to better see it. His mind is doing flips as he sees the blood speckled fur. Some dried and crusty spots, some fresh, still wet.
Ron looks closely and hesees on the hands and feet of the bear, the fabric is pulled back revealingfour hidden compartments. They are empty. "What the hell?" He flips the bear tofurther examine it. He grips the fur covered tail and slowly begins to pull.Ron realizes what he has grabbed a hold of before he even sees it. He pulls theknife out from the sheath hidden within the bear. It is covered in fresh blood.Ron stares at the knife in shock, and at this very moment he knows that if hewants to survive he must be willing to pull the trigger...his life depends onit.
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